Bob Hunter commentary: McBride ensured survival of Crew

Friday

Feb 28, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 28, 2014 at 9:56 AM

The 148-word Associated Press report that announced the election of Brian McBride, Kristine Lilly and Bob Bradley to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame this week didn't mention Columbus or the Crew.

Bob Hunter, The Columbus Dispatch

The 148-word Associated Press report that announced the election of Brian McBride, Kristine Lilly and Bob Bradley to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame this week didn’t mention Columbus or the Crew.

“McBride is a veteran of three World Cups and scored 30 goals in 95 international appearances from 1993-06,” it said, summing up McBride’s career with the depth and flourish of a gravestone inscription.

It’s understandable that McBride’s contributions during eight years with the Crew might not register on a national scale. It also would be almost criminal not to acknowledge what a lot of us in Columbus know: Without McBride, the Crew might never have survived all of the trials that every fledgling franchise in every fledgling league has to endure.

McBride was the first overall pick by the Crew in Major League Soccer’s inaugural draft in 1996, which a football-mad city celebrated with a yawn worthy of Rip Van Winkle. Being the top pick wasn’t quite the same as being No. 1 — or No. 48 — in the NFL or NBA drafts.

The star of that first Crew team was supposed to be one-time South African standout Doctor Khumalo, whom we were told was recognized everywhere he went in Johannesburg. Impressive as this sounded from a bar stool, it didn’t help in the MLS standings. His lackluster play and bland personality barely registered with local fans.

Even as a No. 1 pick, McBride didn’t come here with that kind of buildup, but he was a handsome, charismatic guy who had a game to back up his image.

His value immediately became apparent to then-Crew general manager Jamey Rootes, now president of the NFL’s Houston Texans.

“I remember we played that opening game against DC United in ’96 and nobody really knew what to expect,” Rootes said. “Twenty-five thousand people showed up in Ohio Stadium — folks didn’t think we would draw flies. And Brian scores one of the most amazing goals I have ever seen. A long punt from the goalkeeper, he goes for the header, pops it up, spins around, knocks it past the keeper and he jumps up into the stands with the fans. I’m getting chills thinking about it. It was like — it cannot be any better than this.”

McBride quickly became the face of the franchise and stuck around for eight years, totaling 62 goals and 45 assists in 161 games for a team no one was certain would last more than one or two seasons.

“He was such a great leader of that team during that period,” Rootes said. “When I let (Coach) Timo (Liekoski) go and elevated Tom Fitzgerald, if you don’t have really strong leadership on the club, things fall apart. They didn’t. I think we won nine of 10 to squeak into the playoffs. (The Crew had started 6-16.) And that last home game of the season, against the New York-New Jersey MetroStars, we had 36,000. We win the game 2-0 and I believe Brian scored a critical goal and I think he had a broken bone in his face at the time.

“There are so many things about him to like. I don’t care what sport you are, whether you’re a fledgling team or you have been at it for 100 years.”

Maybe that’s why people who didn’t care about soccer came to know and recognize McBride. His stature continued to grow even after he left to play in Europe in 2004. Three years later, Crew GM Mark McCullers acknowledged that the team hadn’t “come near filling (his) shoes as a marquee player,” and he wasn’t sure the league had seen another player like him.

Would the Crew have survived without McBride? Probably. But it’s a difficult question to definitively answer because he played at a time when the future of any MLS franchise wasn’t assured.

Timing is everything. When McBride hit town, he was exactly what the Crew needed. Without his influence, it’s hard to imagine what soccer would be like in Columbus today.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.

bhunter@dispatch.com

@dailyhunter

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.